Hey, Kids! Comics from 50 Years Ago!
January 20 & 22, 1970
January 20 & 22, 1970
Groovy Age Splash Page of the Week
Groovy Age Spotlight On...
Wacky Packages!
Dig it, Groove-ophiles! Wacky Packages aren't comics, but they're definitely comix related and they most definitely were a huge part of our Groovy Age-era childhoods! Combine the zaniness of mags like Cracked and Mad with art and gags by comix luminaries like Len Brown, Kim Deitch, George Evans, Drew Friedman, Bill Griffith, Jay Lynch, Norman Saunders, Art Spiegelman, Bhob Stewart and Tom Sutton then put 'em in the form of collectible stickers? Was there ever any doubt that whatever change we had left over after we bought our comicbooks in the early-to-mid 70s went to snapping these babies up? (At a nickel a pack, yet!) Here are some samples of the gross-out hilarity that we all loved so well from the 1974 series 6-11...
For tons more info and examples, check out the Wacky Packages Website! That's it for this week, Groove-ophiles! See ya next time! Pax!
I bought all of the Wacky Packages I could get my hands on in childhood. Many hours of fun collecting! Then I found out that the first series had stickers printed on cloth, and that in 1967 - a bit too early for me- they debuted as die-cut Wacky Ads. Most of the first series stickers came from those. Art Spiegelman created the concept (which was basically the back cover product satire for Mad magazine for many years prior to that).
ReplyDeleteNorm Saunders painted most of those early series (1 through 6, I believe). I also remember Wacky Tattoos which really didn't work too well (you went the surface of the image and held it down against your arm). There was also a very poor man's rival to Wacky Packages called Crazy Covers. These stickers lasted perhaps a year or two.
Earlier than this I was collecting the Odd Rods and Silly Cycles stickers with Ed "Big Daddy" Roth art.
Remember these?
Gene Poole
It was probably 1972/73 when I discovered them, Gene, and by late 73 it was a full-blown fad for my circle of friends. I do remember the Crazy Covers, Odd Rods and Silly Cycles, but they didn't grab us like the "Wacky Packs" as we called 'em. I'd like to have 'em, now, though. I'd probably appreciate them a whole lot more!
DeleteSpiegelman later created Garbage Pail Kids in the '80s, but its gross-out humor was a turn off to me. His Dinosaurs Attack series looked interesting, but I never bought any of them. And the Mars Attacks cards were before my time.
DeleteGene Poole
That Neal Adams cover for Flash #195 is superb! He really was in top form in those days---& with such prolific output. Amazing!
ReplyDeleteRegards,
Chris A.
That Batman cover also features the first appearance of the new logo. New decade. New logo. Perfect timing.
ReplyDeleteGreat catch, Scott! And what a cool logo it was!
DeleteI honestly had no idea that The New People had a comic book.
ReplyDeleteBetween Charlton, Dell, and Gold Key, not many TV shows DIDN'T get a comic in the early-to-mid 70s, Kevin. Game Shows and the Norman Lear shows are about the only ones, off the top of my head, I can think of that didn't... Hey, that'd make a great post!
DeleteAlthough satires of game shows & Norman Lear shows certainly made their way into the pages of Mad magazine and National Lampoon. Mad even had a super special with a likeness of Carroll "Archie Bunker" O'Connor on the cover, and a record inside.
Delete- Neil
Not the same as getting their own comics, but very true. I remember a short time when Happy Days' Fonzie was unofficially Cracked's second mascot, appearing on tons of their covers (and many issues). Happy Days, of course, did get their own comic from Gold Key. He was that c-o-o-l!
DeleteWas a fan of Larry's Rawhide Kid, and that cover has remained a favorite of mine since I first saw it 50 years ago!
ReplyDeleteThat Chamber of Darkness #4 cover was pencilled by Marie Severin & inked by Bill Everett. The corresponding story was drawn by Jack Kirby. I also recall Barry Smith doing a pre-Conan barbarian story featuring Starr the slayer.
ReplyDeleteChamber & its sister mag Tower of Shadows were short-lived, but had a great talent roster including Steranko, Neal Adams, Berni Wrightson, Wally Wood, Barry Smith, Dan Adkins, Tom Palmer, John Buscema, & so many other top talents of the day.
Regards,
Chris A.
Both Kirby's "The Monster" and Smith's "Starr" features are here on the blog. "The Monster" on June 13, 2009 and "Starr" on January 30, 2009. (In case anyone wants to see 'em.)
ReplyDeleteYou picked well with your featured splash. Dave Cockrum was one of the best the industry ever had. Can't believe he's been gone for 13+ years. When you have a series of covers like this you send me to eBay in search of back issues. So many of these comics were missed the first time around because I was only into superhero and sci-fi/fantasy.
ReplyDelete